Take bold steps to solve Togo crisis – Bernard Mornah

Bernard Mornah, National Chairman of the People’s National Congress (PNC)

The National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Mr Bernard Mornah, has urged the government to take a bold step in solving the Togo political crisis.

He said the Togo crisis had graduated from bad to worse and urgent steps needed to be taken to avert any calamity by the ‘brutalities of the government led by Gnassingbe Faure’.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, Mr Mornah said the Ghana-Togo Solidarity Movement (GTSM) was aimed at bringing attention to the sordid political situation in Togo.

“Ever since Gnassingbe Faure became the President of Togo, the country has not seen real citizenship participation in governance,” he stated.

Mr Mornah explained that since August 2017, the people of Togo had been protesting to demand political change and the end of the Gnassingbe dynasty that had been ruling the country for the past 51 years.

“And anytime the people go on protest, they are brutally molested by the military and the police,” he lamented.

Current crisis

For his part, a member of the GTSM, Mr Yakubu Farudeen, said the current situation in Togo was worse.

He indicated that the military and the police had been molesting the people anytime they went on a protest or demonstration by using tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had put up roadblocks and set tyres on fire.

“Some of the citizens are beaten and thrown into prison, while others have hot water poured on them and chased from the streets,” he noted.

Background

The Togo crisis which started in August 2017 was mainly to demand constitutional reforms, including term limits for the President.

But as the protests continued, the demands of the opposition changed to ‘Faure Must Go’, meaning people were no longer just protesting for constitutional reforms or term limits, but they wanted the end of the Gnassingbe dynasty.